The BEST Gluten-Free Rolls Recipe
I’m so excited to share this recipe for the fluffiest gluten free, dairy free, and egg free dinner rolls! They’re soft with just a bit of a crunchy crust, and full of yeasty bread flavor that won’t leave you missing the gluten. Try this gluten free rolls recipe. You’re gonna love ’em.
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These are, no joke, the best gluten free rolls I’ve ever had.
They happen to be dairy and egg free, too, so they’re great to make when you’re out of those ingredients or if you avoid those ingredients in your diet.
I’m so excited to share this recipe for the fluffiest gluten, dairy, and egg free dinner rolls! More and more people are contacting me to tell me about their new found allergies or intolerances to dairy, gluten, and eggs. Interestingly enough, a lot of young babies don’t tolerate those ingredients well, and many of my breastfeeding friends have had to eliminate them from their diet.
My whole family struggles with allergies, so we’ve done multiple elimination diets and have needed to avoid all of these ingredients at certain points.
Because of needing to cook without eggs, dairy, and gluten at various times, I know how difficult it can be to find or make delicious bread when you can’t (or choose not to) consume those things!
But here’s some hope. Some fluffy-bread-you-can-eat hope.
These vegan, gluten free rolls are super good, easy to make, and only have one rise. You’ll never know they’re missing gluten, dairy and eggs…except for the fact that, well, you made them…so you do.
But other people won’t know unless you tell them!
Read Next: Best EVER Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Related Post: Gluten-free Pretty-darn Perfect “Rye” Bread
Related Post: Soft Cinnamon Raisin Bread (gluten free & dairy free)
A couple things to note:
- You’ll need a kitchen mixer that can beat the dough with the xanthan gum for 3 minutes. This helps the gum give a really nice elasticity to the rolls that is similar to regular glutenous bread
- This gluten free roll dough is very sticky! To shape it into rolls, you’ll want to work with wet hands. I usually have a bowl of water that I dip my hands into on my counter as I work. You’ll want to re-wet your hands before shaping every roll.
- You’ll want to handle the rolls very gently. Try not to squeeze them, but rather smooth them quickly like you’re playing a weird game of hot-potato.
Hop on over to see the list of kitchen appliancesthat will make your gluten-free life so much easier!
Fluffy Gluten-Free Rolls
The absolute best gluten free dinner roll I've ever had! These also happen to be egg and dairy free, so they're vegan friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp active yeast
- 2 1/2 cups gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 cup oil (I like to use grapeseed or avacado oil, but olive oil also works)
- Optional: dried parsley
- Optional: coarse salt
Instructions
- Fill a glass measuring cup with warm water and stir in sugar to dissolve slightly. Add in yeast and give a quick stir, then let it sit for 5 minutes to foam and get bubbly-happy
- While your yeast is sitting, add flour, salt, and xanthan gum to the bowl of a kitchen mixer and stir to combine
- Once your yeast is ready, add the yeast mixture and oil into the mixer's bowl and turn the mixer on low to combine all of the ingredients. Then scrape down the bowl (making sure there isn't a bunch of flour sitting on the bottom of the bowl, either) and turn the kitchen mixer onto medium-high for 3 minutes
- Scrape down the bowl, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap, and set in a warm spot undisturbed for 35 minutes
- While your dough rises, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and prepare two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper
- Once dough has risen, fill a small bowl with lukewarm water to dip your hands in. Grease a 1/4-1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop some of the dough into your wet hands. Gently shape into a ball, trying to keep it fairly round, and smooth the tops. Then place on your prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the dough is gone
- Optional: sprinkle dried parsley and/or coarse salt on each roll
- Bake in the preheated oven for 26-28 minutes, until internal temperature is around 200 degrees F.
- I like the outsides crisp and brown, so I crank my oven to broil and broil on high for 2 extra minutes. Feel free to do the same! Or skip it
- Allow the rolls to cool slightly before serving
- Enjoy!
Read Next: Best EVER Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Related Post: Gluten-free Pretty-darn Perfect “Rye” Bread
Related Post: Soft Cinnamon Raisin Bread (gluten free & dairy free)
Good morning! Is the extra xantham gum required if your gf flour already has xantham gum?
Merci!
Yes it is 🙂 . It helps to make these rolls extra soft and chewy, while binding them together so they hold shape.
I made these today, following my daughter making gluten free dishes for a school exam, and we have an abundance of gluten free flours to use up so chose this recipe to have a go myself. They are absolutely amazing! And its so satisfying to handle the dough! I chose chia seeds to top them with and they were perfect.. Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! Oh, you just made my day. I’m so happy you enjoyed them.
Best GF rolls I’ve found! Thank you so much!
Oh, I’m so glad! You’re welcome–I’m happy to share 🙂
I tried to make this and the inside was gummy and didn’t taste done. I even cooked it longer after I seen it was gummy. I really don’t know what I did wrong. Can you please give me some suggestions?
Tammy, I’m sorry to hear they didn’t turn out well for you! Baking them 5 minutes longer should have helped. I had a batch turn out gummy once–I checked the temperature of my oven and it was way too low. I’d suggest testing your oven temperature, as that might be the culprit. Also, the texture changes a bit after they cool down a little.
Let me know if I can be of more help! I want you to have awesome gluten-free rolls in your life 😉
Don’t know what happened. It was cooked on the outside and bottom but the inside was raw. What went wrong ?
Lisa, I’m sorry these didn’t work well for you. What kind of flour did you use and how long did they bake?
Depending on the flour, it could be that there was too much xanthan gum, which makes the rolls very gummy and taste raw. If you bought a flour blend that has a high amount of xanthan gum, you’ll need to reduce the amount of extra xanthan gum added. I make these with my own flour blend which has a lower amount of xanthan gum in it.
It could also be that they weren’t quite done. These do very well being baked for the max amount of time so that the inside better holds the fluffy structure. The one time mine came out gummy, I found out my oven temperature was actually way off and was not heating as high as it should. So even with the max amount of time they were under baked.
I hope this helps you problem solve and I hope you try them again. Let me know if you have more questions! I’d love to help make these work if I can 🙂
Can’t wait to give these a try! Is there a xantham gum that you used or recommend? Thank you! Keep up the great work!
Hi Julie! I’m so glad you’re gonna give these a go! They’re very easy and I make them almost every week 😀
My favorite xanthan gums to use are Anthony’s Goods or Bob’s Red Mill. I’ve used both consistently with good results. Anthony’s Goods is shipping everything free right now, which is pretty great and cost effective (woohoo).
Thank you! I made these for Easter & tried to make them look like bunnies….the resemblance didn’t really work, but the rolls were a HIT!! Making them again today!
I also doubled and made half into a LOAF & it worked pretty well!! (Love how easy/simple the recipe is!)
Mollie, Thank you for your comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!! What a fun idea to try to make bunnies! And I love your idea to turn it into a loaf. You’re just full of good ideas. I’ll have to try it myself, so thank YOU for passing on your experience and inspiration!
Hi, I tried this recipe and found it great. I have IBS-D, can’t have regular wheat. Plus, I can’t have dairy. I’m so happy I found this receipeJean
I’m really glad this worked well for you, Jean! We have intolerances to both dairy and wheat over here, too, that cause not fun digestion issues. I feel for you.
I have a couple other dairy and wheat free recipes if you want to try them: sandwich bread, breakfast cookies, pizza crust, or cinnamon rolls.
The dough was really runny after it proofed. I couldn’t form it into balls. What do you think I did wrong?
Leah, I’m sorry you had an issue with these rolls! The dough is definitely more wet than regular bread dough, but it should still be able to hold into a ball shape.
A couple of things may have contributed…Did you add extra xanthan gum? The xanthan gum helps the dough bind together. It could also be that there was too little flour. I measure by scooping and leveling versus spooning into the measuring cup. This could cause a difference in flour amount (I should add this detail into the recipe!).
Hopefully this helps you problem solve! Let me know 🙂
These rolls are seriously good. Thank you so much for this recipe.
You are so welcome! I’m really glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking time to leave a comment 🙂
Can you make these a day in advance? Do they dry out quickly like regular bread?
Hi LeeAnn! Great question. I prefer them fresh the same day, but we have definitely eaten leftovers the next day quite happily. Just make sure to store them in an air-tight container and heat them (good and hot ;)) before serving.
You can also keep the dough in the fridge in a covered bowl over night and bake it the next day.
Hope you enjoy them!
I made these (my flour has xatham gum in it) and they came out flat. The dough was really mushy too. Looked like cookies. What did I miss?
Hi Amanda, I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you! Hopefully I can help you figure out what went wrong here. It may have been the yeast (old yeast won’t rise well) or that your oven wasn’t quite hot enough. The dough is definitely more batter like, but should still have lots of bubbles. What kids of flour did you use?
So I made these for the first time and I wasn’t sure because the dough was so different from making regular rolls. I decided to bake them up anyways. Sprinkled everything bagel seasoning on them and they are delicious!!!!
Amanda, I’m so glad you liked them! Woohoo!!! Everything Bagel seasoning sounds so delicious–SUCH a great idea. Imma gonna have to try it 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Will this recipe work with almond flour?
I meant to ask if this recipe works with coconut flour. Thanks!
These are the bomb! I made these for my son’s girlfriend and I’ve seriously made at least 6 other batches. I used an internal thermometer to test the doneness and then removed from oven, brushed with melted butter then broiled until light brown. PERFECTION!! the only thing his girlfriend wanted for her birthday was more rolls so I made two separate batches and packed in a box lined with parchment paper. She was thrilled! Thank you so much for this outstanding recipe!!
Anne, this made my whole week. You are very welcome. I’m SO glad you’ve all enjoyed them! Thanks for taking time to comment 🙂
The “girlfriend” has now become the “wife”. Did those rolls make the difference? Coincidence? … I think not! 😁👍
Does the dough freeze well? If we pre-make the rolls, would it still bake well after thawing? If not, how long can it keep in the refrigerator?
Hi Marissa! What a great question. I have never tried freezing the dough before, so I can’t speak to how it would do. I have made the dough early and let it rise in the refrigerator for up to two days (after that it gets a much stronger yeast flavor). I just cover it tightly and pop it in the fridge after beating the ingredients together. Before baking, I let it sit on the counter for 1/2 an hour and bake as the recipe directs.
One of these days I’ll test freezing the rolls for easy dinners! I know the freezing dough method works great for these gluten free biscuits.
Can you make these without the xanthan gum?
Is broil like grilling to the English?
Hi Mollie! Broiling is when you use just the top heating elements in an oven at a high heat to crisp the top. Different from grilling, but good at getting everything nice and brown in a fast way.
Can I use 1/2 white rice flour and 1/2 brown rice flour and get the same results?
Hi Laurie, that combo is wonderful, but would also need to have the starch in it. So if you’re using a homemade flour blend, you can use both rice flours, but I’d recommend also adding starch, like in my homemade flour blend. Let me know if you have any other questions!
These rolls are literally an answer to prayer! My daughter has a food limiting diagnosis of Eosinophilic Esophagitis and multiple severe food allergies with an extremely restricted diet. The only store-bought bread she could eat has recently added an allergen she can not have to their recipe, so now, back to the kitchen. I have tried so many recipes with various flour combinations, none acceptable enough to even bake again. I prayed. This child needs bread for sandwiches bc the lettuce wraps are not filling and she leaves for college next year and would really like to be able to make quick, filling lunches since she can’t eat at the dining halls. I pinned your recipe, made it using 1 for 1 flour I had on hand at home, used my hand mixer with dough attachments (first time!) and the rolls came out BETTER than store-bought in every way!!! I cannot believe these are gluten-free vegan! Truly an answer to pray that my daughter loves to eat and enjoys baking for herself now. A blessing to our family! Thank you so much for the recipe and tips!!!
This brought real tears to my eyes. Praising God for orchestrating all the things to get this recipe to you.
Thank you for sharing and taking time to tell your story!
Update on my last comment. I’m now probably into making these at least 30 times, not only for my daughter-in-law, which was the initial reason as she’s GF, but also for friends and family who are not GF and I get so many requests for the recipe. I’m thinking some people are having difficulties because they are not adding the xanthum gum. I use Bob’s Red Mill GF flour which has xanthum gum in it but I still add the extra. They have NEVER failed to be absolutely to die for. Thank you again for this forever recipe! 🫶